Wrapped in Red
by BittersweetSonata
Summary: Drabbles. He's always there to keep her warm, even when he's not; - Eren x Mikasa
1. Chapter 1

**title: **Stardust Dreams

**pairing: **Eren x Mikasa

**setting: **In canon.

**summary: **Believe it or not, Mikasa Ackerman dreams in fairy tales.

**notes: **Now I'm writing for my newest obsession. And I love drabbles, so how about a series for my favorite Shingeki no Kyojin pairing?

**disclaimer: **I own nothing.

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_._

_"we are the stuff dreams are made of." _

_._

* * *

Mikasa Ackerman is a pretty girl – a goddess, to her fellow male members of the 104th Training Squad. Her skin is porcelain and flawless, and her eyes are like dull moonbeams. Her hair is ebony – the color of the darkest time of night – and it suits her well.

She is strong and intelligent, one of the top ten students in her squad. She is devoted, strong-willed, and broken.

Despite her mostly emotionless exterior – Mikasa is like glass. She shatters easily, depending on how she is dropped. She's been broken three times before. Once when her parents were murdered, another when the wall fell and Carla Jaeger was eaten by a Titan. And the last, when Eren Jaeger was eaten alive.

Despite what Armin, Jean, Christa, Ymir, Connie, Sasha, Levi, Eren – _anyone _– may think, Mikasa Ackerman dreams in fairy tales. She was raised on them, after all. When she was younger, her mother used to read them to her, and Mikasa soaked them in like a flower soaks up water. She _breathed _fairy tales.

Where the prince saves the princess and they live happily ever after.

Where there are no Titans that kill and maim, where there are no walls, where there are no corrupt soldiers, where humanity is not in constant danger of extinction, where her friends are all alive and well, where Eren is not a Titan shifter and Annie is not encased in a hunk of crystal, where her parents and Eren's mother are alive, where the world is right and is as it should be.

She even dreams of a happy ending for Levi and Petra – the woman Eren had told her about once.

They have a house somewhere nice, with lush green land, and they're married.

She has a dream where Sasha _finally _has plenty to eat, and she no longer has to feed the girl her bread at dinner.

In another, Marco is alive and laughing with Jean.

In one dream, she sees Eren and herself, and he's smiling brighter than she's ever seen him. She's smiling back, and they laugh. It's a beautiful day, there's a small breeze and the sky is so _blue. _She _swears, _Eren is leaning in to kiss her.

And the she wakes up.

In a heartbeat, it's all gone. She is transported from a magical world back to the cruel one she is so accustomed to.

And after long, _long _days of fighting and trying to survive, she falls back into her dreamland.

She dreams of a girl – one who looks eerily similar to herself – who is trapped in a tower. There is no way out and people are coming for her, but not to save her. She thinks, for just a brief second, that maybe this is a glimpse of bitter reality, the harsh truth that no one is going to be there when she dies. But then, there's a bright-eyed boy, and she can just _see _the fire in his eyes. He's there and he saves her, and she realizes, realizes that there's someone who cares about her enough to save her life, three times now.

That same bright-eyed boy wraps a deep red – more like maroon – scarf around the girl, claiming that it's cold out, and it'll keep her warm.

It does.

Even when she wakes up and is brought of her fairy realm and back into the vicious world that is reality.

.

.

(And somehow, that same boy helps her face another day, even when he isn't there beside her.)

* * *

**end notes: **Haven't quite made it to chapter fifty-one yet, but I'm close. I'm on forty-six, I think.


	2. Chapter 2

**title: **See How the Moon Shines _  
_

**pairing: **Eren x Mikasa, one-sided Jean x Mikasa

**summary: **Jean watches from the sidelines, and he doesn't understand how Eren can't see what's in front of him.

**setting: **In canon, maybe slightly au.

**notes: **So I got this idea last night as I was struggling from insomnia. Because clearly Jean has feelings for Mikasa, but I have a feeling he's never going to act on them. So thus, this was born. And also, the thought of Jean fighting with Eren so much because of the latter's blindness toward Mikasa's feelings was there, and I acted upon it. It's just a thought. That's probably not how it is, because Eren isn't exactly stupid.

**disclaimer: **I own jack.

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_._

_He just doesn't understand. _

_._

* * *

Jean Kirchstein watches from the sidelines.

In truth, that's all he's ever done and probably all he will ever do.

He watches as the boy who calls him horse-face tells the girl he has a crush on to cut the hair he finds so beautiful.

_What's wrong, Jean? _Connie questions because he figures he probably looks like he's ready to wring Jaeger's neck.

He is.

It was just earlier that night that he and Eren had agreed to be friends, but then…then he changed his mind.

He realizes that it's very painful, loving someone who will most likely never love you back. So he makes himself content with sitting back and watching. And it's then that it strikes him – how _stupid _Eren Jaeger really is.

The kid who's so ready to fight and rush to his death literally has a girl who loves him right in front of him. Problem is, he's too blind to see it.

This is why Jean gets into fights with him so much. Sure, he may be hotheaded – not like _Eren_ though, he's not ready to run to his death like that kid – but his rival is so blind that it pisses Jean off. A lot. He just can't comprehend how incredibly dumb and blind Eren is.

Mikasa always protects him, she practically follows him wherever he goes. She worries over his wellbeing more than a fussy, overprotective mother would. And while she may have never _openly _admitted her love for the idiot, Jean can tell.

He can tell that she's deeply in love and like himself, is keeping it inside. Only, her reason is completely different than his.

He can see the jealously shining in her eyes when Eren fights with Annie, and not her. Mikasa is easily one of the strongest in their squad, but Annie has a fighting style all her own. He concludes that Eren just wants to learn from her, but he is still in dumb bliss about Mikasa's feelings toward him.

It gets to the point that, when they join the Scouting Legion, he can tell that even Levi can see it. And he feels a little bit better because now he's not the only one frustrated with Eren Jaeger's stupidity.

It makes him laugh, and these days, Jean doesn't laugh much.

He wonders briefly if Marco had seen it as well, before he died.

The thought sobers him, and he realizes that he's seen way too much for a guy his age. The same goes for Mikasa, and as much as he hates to say it, Eren. Everyone in their squad has seen too much, and he realizes that there's so much more to come.

He doesn't like to think about it, so instead, he focuses on the ongoing silent drama playing out before him. He observes the subject of his unrequited love and the guy he now begrudgingly admits is a friend. They're eating dinner and Eren is talking and Mikasa is listening, a bright gleam in her dull moonbeam eyes. A gleam he instantly recognizes.

"Jean? Jean?"

His eyes turn to Sasha, and he supposes she asked him a question and he wasn't paying attention to hear it.

"Huh?"

She smiles and whacks Connie on his back so hard he spits out his food. "Just wanted to know what you thought about…"

Her voice fades in the background as he nods along, half-listening to her story. He feels a little bad, she's his friend after all. But that doesn't stop him from sparing furtive glances at Eren and Mikasa who are sitting at the table next to them.

That same gleam is still in Mikasa's eyes, and there's a small smile on her face.

Eren doesn't seem to notice.

.

.

(And Jean sees Levi scowl at them from his position next to Eren, and he laughs as he realizes Levi is swearing under his breath and stabbing his food with a ridiculous amount of force. Mikasa and Eren don't notice, but he does.)

* * *

**end notes: **I try. I really do. Levi is one of my favorite characters (idk why though) and so I had to add him in there.


	3. Chapter 3

**title: **Wallflower, Wallflower, Tell Me Your Secrets

**summary: **Mikasa is considered a goddess among mortals, but the man she's in love with, just doesn't seem to notice her.

**pairing: **Eren x Mikasa, Mikasa x Armin friendship

**setting: **In canon, during training.

**notes: **This is my fastest updated story because drabbles are short and fun to write. In other words, not stressful and frustrating. Usually. I realize this is longer than a drabble but oh well. That's how it turned out.

**other: **Send in your prompts! PM me with them, and I'll accommodate. I promise. Or at least I'll try, anyway.

**disclaimer: **I own nothing.

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_._

_Cast in this unlikely role _

_._

* * *

Mikasa is a goddess among mortals. She is beautiful in every way. From her ebony hair to her shining sliver stardust eyes and even to the tips of her toes. She is well-mannered and kind, strong and loyal, literate and intelligent – beauty and brains, some would say. And so, the Ackerman girl does not go unnoticed by any, whether they be male or female.

She is praised by almost all in her squadron and even her superiors, although Shadis isn't exactly one to hand out compliments – as all the recruits of the 104th training squad know. And when he does give them, they're odd and fumbled at first, unfamiliar on his tongue like he isn't used to them. But soon she goes from – "Better swing and footing than most" – to "Good work with the 3D Maneuver Gear, Ackerman" – and whether she is proud of that fact does not matter.

Because while most of her fellow squadron would _kill _to receive good reports and acknowledgments from their harsh instructor, these things do not matter to Mikasa. She is glad to get them, in a way, because they let her know that she is doing well and not in danger of getting booted from the unit.

She has to make it to the Survey Corps, after all.

And while she is constantly being praised by her fellow trainees, Mikasa would just rather not be noticed by them at all. But alas, Mikasa is very, very pretty and very, very good at what she does and so there is no way to _not _be noticed.

Unfortunately.

Mikasa wouldn't mind being a wallflower, a girl who just fades into the background and goes unnoticed by all except for those who matter. Like her friends.

And Eren.

But Mikasa Ackerman is not a wallflower, no matter how much she wishes to be one. And anyway, you have to be pretty outstanding to make it to the Survey Corps, and you can't accomplish that by being a wallflower.

However, if there is some way – _any way _– that she can hide from sight for just a little while, then she wants to know. So she thinks. Christa – no matter how kind and sweet she is – is not a wallflower. Her popularity is only increased and she is quickly elevated to 'goddess' status along with Mikasa because of that kindness and special sweetness.

Ymir is out of the question before she is even considered, as is Annie.

Sasha is too focused on food to be a wallflower, because she certainly doesn't go unnoticed by stealing food from the officers' supply and she still hasn't been forgotten by that smooth move of offering a potato to Shadis.

Mikasa concludes that the name 'potato girl' may stick around with the brunette until all of the 104th trainee squad is long gone.

Hannah, while not really standing out, isn't exactly faded into the background either.

So she thinks and finally, after pondering the possibilities for quite a while, comes up with an answer.

Armin Arlet is as much of and more than a wallflower than she is going to find anywhere else.

"Mikasa." he smiles at her when she approaches him. "Good afternoon."

She nods, ebony hair caressing her shoulders as she dips her head toward him. "Armin, good afternoon to you."

She takes a seat beside him on the ground.

And they sit in quiet.

"Is there anything I can help you with today, Mikasa? Are you looking for Eren? I think he went-," she cuts him off, politely of course because that's how she was raised.

"I'm sorry, but, I was looking for you."

He raises a light golden brow. "Oh?" he is a little nervous, but mostly curious.

Mikasa inhales some of the warm summer air. "Armin, how – how do you do it?"

He doesn't understand the question.

"Sorry, how do I do what?" there is a patient smile on his face.

Typical Armin.

She leans in a little closer and motions toward him with her porcelain hands. "How do you manage to – to," she can't think of the words she wants to say. And the ones she does think of, might be misinterpreted. She seriously considers giving up.

"Stay out of the limelight?"

His tone is amused, and she looks at him in shock. He laughs at the true emotion showing on her face, then smiles.

Again, typical Armin.

She loves him – as a friend, of course.

He shrugs, blissful smile still on his face. "Honestly, I'm not really good at anything like you are. You excel at everything, Mikasa." he taps his head. "I just excel up here. Not really useful out in battle."

She holds a finger up and begins to protest.

"Of course, I don't doubt myself." he assures her quickly, effectively silencing her protests. "And I know you and Eren believe in me. That's great, and I'm glad. But I'm just not built for battle like you two, and that's okay with me now. And, as it goes, since I don't exactly stand out in the fighting department like you do, I tend to go unnoticed. However…I don't think that's a real great course of action for you."

Mikasa nods in agreement.

Armin continues, wistful smile on his face as he traces a pattern in the dust. "Some people just aren't meant to fade into the background, Mikasa. It's not where they're meant to be. And whether they realize it or not, that's okay." there's a sparkling gleam in his youthful turquoise orbs. "They're meant to be noticed by people." his smile grows wider as he goes on. "And one day, I think that special someone they're dreaming of noticing them as well, will."

His last sentence doesn't exactly fit.

But it does in a way and she wonders – wonders just _how _he could possibly _know. _

The she realizes, he is Armin, and of course he knows. How could he not? He is perceptive and not just theoretical. There's also the fact that he's known her almost as long as Eren has.

She smiles at him. He smiles back.

The sun is shining and today is happy.

Even though the one person Mikasa actually _wants _to notice her doesn't seem to, it's okay. Because one day he will and she just has to wait until then.

.

.

(A ways off, Marco is talking to a boy who isn't actually listening – rather, he's focusing his undivided attention on the beautiful girl sitting under a tree and talking with his childhood friend. She is smiling beautifully and Eren notices her. _He always has._)

* * *

**end notes: **This one was supposed to be fun and happy (or at least not angsty) because the other two drabbles have been...deep. I had fun writing this one. The thought of Armin as a wallflower cracks me up. It was random, and inspired this.

**thanks to: **_Walrus Flavored Pizza_ (your username is amusing), _TheWriterWhoDreams_, and _maesde _for reviewing. Really, thank you. I was getting zero feedback so I had no idea if people liked this or not. Also, thank you to those who have added this drabble series to their favorites and follows.

**last call: **See you next chapter; won't you send in your prompts?


	4. Chapter 4

**title: **Paint Me Like One of Your Deviant Titans

**summary: **The model chooses the painter, sweetheart. Not the other way around.

**setting: **art!au, non canonverse. I guess.

**pairing: **Eren x Mikasa

**notes: **So I had this idea, and I don't know where it came from, but I liked it. So here it is in writing form.

**disclaimer: **I own nothing.

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_._

_"The model chooses the painter, sweetheart"_

_._

* * *

i.

"So, you're taking art class." is Jean's opening line. It's not even a question – it's a statement.

Eren feels tired already. "It's not 'art class', it's advanced painting. Something a horse-face like you wouldn't understand."

"What was _that_?" Jean snarls, but Marco grabs his collar before the guy can fully launch himself at Eren.

Armin smiles. "So you decided to go with that then? We'll be in it together."

"Your instructor looks kind of freaky, though." Connie puts in, glancing at the rather short man across the room. He turns to Jean. "Anyway, you'd take advanced painting too if you saw some of the models they get to work with."

Jean is suddenly very interested. "Oh really? Is that why Jaeger chose such a lame class?"

"It's not lame." Armin interjects weakly.

The only who hears him is Marco.

Eren narrows his eyes and seethes. "It's an awesome class, and I have an awesome talent."

They all look back at him. Jean is unimpressed.

"You paint."

"Ever heard of Leonardo da Vinci, or Michelangelo? Hell, even Picasso – I'm a lot better than that guy – and Monet, Van Gogh, any of them?" Eren questions, scowl ever present.

Jean scoffs. "Of course I've heard of them. We attend a college of the arts, if you hadn't noticed."

"You draw, pony boy." Eren smirks, stabbing a potato on his plate with his fork.

A full-blown fight breaks out among the two.

ii.

"You decided to be a model?" Christa repeats in disbelief, turquoise eyes wide.

Ymir snorts. Sasha looks indifferent, as does Annie.

"You're such a good artist though." Christa whispers, still not able to comprehend what she has just been told.

Mikasa blinks, unperturbed. "You're modeling."

The blond girl sighs. "Yes but, I'm a dancer, so that's okay. You, on the other hand…"

Ymir snorts again. "You should go for it, Ackerman. Hook up with one of those cute painter boys."

Christa goes pale, and Mikasa turns just a little pink.

"That's not exactly what I had in mind."

Sasha chews thoughtfully.

Ymir smirks and crosses her arms. "Why? You're a big girl, Mikasa. Lots of models hook up with their partners."

Annie, who had previously not spoken a word, turns to the freckle-faced girl. "And how would you know that?"

Sasha swallows, and turns to Mikasa. "I forgot an assignment last week, so I had to go back to my class to get it. She was making out with this guy –,"

Ymir looks at her in horror. "Not in front of Christa!"

"– in the rehearsal room."

Christa looks scandalized, Mikasa gapes, Annie's brows are furrowed, and Ymir launches herself toward Sasha with a battle cry.

iii.

"Alright brats," Levi begins, highly unimpressed with all his new art students, "here's how this year will go. You'll do your assignments, you'll clean up after yourself," he looks particularly scary when he says this, "and you'll get along with your partner. Follow these three rules, and you should survive the year." he heaves a heavy, heavy sigh. "Now, time to get acquainted with your partners." he waves a hand. "Have at it."

Students mill about the room, murmuring to themselves. Eren has no idea what to do, so he just sits there behind his easel. He notices a particularly giddy girl staring unabashed at a male model and raises his brows.

What has he gotten himself into?

The seemingly shameless girl makes to move and talk to the model, but a dark-haired girl holds her back. She has freckles and a somewhat dark smirk on her face as she says,

"Model chooses the painter, sweetheart."

Eren blinks, and glances over at Armin, who is set up a few easels down from him. He's talking with – and looking slightly intimidated by – a pretty blond girl. She seems expressionless, and Armin seems more than nervous. He decides to watch this play out.

Finally, after a short conversation, Armin smiles and offers his hand, the blond girl gives him the mother of all ghost smiles, and shakes his hand.

Huh.

"Excuse me?"

He swings around to see a dark-haired girl with dim starlight eyes. She is the very definition of feminine beauty and all that is lovely in the world. She also looks very, very nervous.

"You…you're a student painter, right?"

He nods.

She gives him a small smile. "I'm Mikasa."

"Eren."

It's the start of something beautiful.

vi.

Mikasa sits, still as the porcelain doll she is, as he paints her. Eren makes sure to capture every aspect of her personality, and just her. The other models may move every once in a while before their break – that is, excluding Annie Leonhardt, Armin's partner, the girl's like a rock – but not Mikasa.

There's a book in her hands, and Eren thinks that maybe she is reading it to pass the time.

Later, Levi gives him what his fellow classmates call praise, on his portrait of Mikasa. He gets high marks.

He can't help but agree with Levi, only he isn't just talking about the portrait when Eren says she is beautiful.

v.

"Some introduction Levi gave us, huh?" he asks her as they sit and eat one day.

She smiles. "Yeah."

vi.

He frowns at her, and she wonders if she's done something wrong, but she doesn't move from her position. They're out in a field. It is early spring and the flowers are just beginning to bloom. The wind is chilly though, and goes right through her white sundress.

Eren scowl at her from behind his easel, then moves toward her.

"Wha –," he cuts her off by wrapping his carmine scarf around her.

"You looked cold. It'll keep you warm." is his reply, and then he's back behind his easel, mixing paints.

Mikasa fingers it and takes in his smell before smiling into the fabric.

vii.

"Jean asked you out?" Eren asks, feeling furious with his friend, and strangely enough, himself.

Mikasa doesn't meet his eyes. "Yes."

"Well what did you say?"

"I said no."

viii.

"Hey you thick-headed idiot, don't you realize?" Ymir questions him one day.

Eren stares back at her. "Realize what?"

She looks at him in bewilderment and maybe disappointment. There's a storm in her eyes. "Nothing, never mind."

She's gone before he can further question her.

ix.

"I love you."

He gets it.

x.

Sasha hums a show tune to herself and walks with a dance in her step on her way to her lecture. Something catches her eye, and she stops. Right in front of Levi's class. It is empty, save for two people. She blinks, and narrows her eyes, a smile spreading across her lips at what she sees.

Eren, pinning Mikasa up against the wall, kissing her.

The brunette pulls a granola bar out of her bag and shoves it in her mouth as she walks on, planning on telling her friends about the newest couple later.

* * *

**end notes: **Yeah so, there goes my less than a 1,000 words ideal. I try to keep it under but, yeah. I know next-to-nothing about art colleges and the classes in them and models and so I'm sorry if this isn't accurate. Psht, I know it's not accurate, but it was fun to write.

**thanks to: **_maesde, ClumsyMustache, _and _solitarycloud_ for your reviews. I love feedback. Also, thank you to those who have added this series to their favorites and who have followed it.

**last call: **Go on, send in your prompts please.


	5. Chapter 5

**title: **This is Not Happily Ever After

**summary: **He is a prince, she is his knight. She cannot love him, but she does.

**pairing: **Eren x Mikasa

**setting: **Some kind of au. Non canonverse, maybe?

**notes: **This was from my first prompt! Thank you,_ missstampede._ I was glad to get it, really.

**disclaimer: **I own nothing.

* * *

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_you are my sweetest downfall_

.

* * *

She watches as the future king of Shiganshina converses with the courtiers. A boy she has known since she was eight – when she had been chosen to protect him. They'd grown up together after that, she and him. Eren Jaeger – the prince of Shinganshina, the boy with bright eyes and chocolate-colored hair. A royal, who resides in the castle of Wall Maria. She lives there as well, but her chamber isn't exactly satin, silk, and velvet.

There are plenty of beautiful women in the kingdom, and he's talking with several of them. They're draped in the finest silks, satins, and finery, and when they walk, they barely make a sound. Most have their hair up in complicated twists, braids, and buns. They are of noble blood and certainly make a very pretty picture.

Mikasa glances down at her breastplate and armor, at the sword hanging at her side. The chain-mail and metal clang together when she walks, letting everyone nearby know that she is approaching. Her hair is short and plain, just barely dusting the outline of her jaw. She is not dressed in the best the kingdom has to offer – well, maybe the best armor – and she does not look like she should be in court at all.

She is not of noble blood.

Or at least that is what she has been told.

The only reason she is even in court is because she is the appointed protector of the prince – of that beautiful boy Eren. When she was younger, she wore dresses and attended dances, but she had not yet fully assumed her position then.

Now she wore armor and fought in bloody battles.

The life of a soldier.

Mikasa watches with faded starlit eyes as the prince – the boy she has loved since she was just a little girl – is approached by Levi, Shiganshina's army captain. The shorter and older man speaks lowly, and Mikasa cannot hear what he is saying from her spot across the room.

So she stays in her thoughts a bit longer, until Eren or Levi comes for her.

While she is in love with the future king, she will never be able to marry him. It's not forbidden – marriage to a commoner, a soldier like herself – but it is not exactly heard of, either.

Mikasa is a young woman – a soldier, but a young woman all the same – and she is in love.

And it mortifies her, because she can never act on her feelings.

"Mikasa, are you alright?" Jean Kirchstein questions, taking in her brief expression of horror. It's gone in a second, but it was _there. _

She inhales sharply. "I'm fine, Jean. Come, Levi is beckoning us over."

* * *

The Titans.

A group of rebels, set on destroying Shinganshina and massacring its people.

Mikasa cuts them down, leaving a bloody path in her terrifying wake. She is highly advanced, and her skills are the exact reason she was chosen as the crowned prince's protector. She is sworn to him, and she loves him more than she should. She knows.

It is frightening to her.

She can no longer see Eren.

That scares her more.

They're in the battlefield, surrounded by corpses of the fallen – both friend and foe. She can just see her comrades - Sasha, Jean, Connie, Ryner, Ymir, Christa, Armin, Annie, Berthold - out of the corner of her eye. They look okay. Beaten, bloody, and bruised, but _alive. _The grass is red from the running blood, and she herself is spotted with it. It clings to her clothes, to her armor, to her pale _pale _skin.

It does not make her feel alive.

"Eren!" the scream of his name rips from her dry throat. "Eren! Eren!"

She has always been told to address him as 'Your Highness' or 'Your Majesty', but this is war, and no one will notice.

Mikasa runs blindly, not even aware of where she is headed except that she has to find _him. _She is one of the few living, she is not dead nor is she stuck in the torturous limbo between death and life. But she still cannot _see him. _

And suddenly…

"Eren!"

He is there, fighting off one of the remaining Titans. He is tired, and one of his arms is bleeding severely. They are struggling, and the Titan manages to pin him on the ground. Then…the rebel plunges his weapon downward. Down, down, down toward her beloved prince.

It barely scratches his neck when the Titan falls over, Mikasa's sword still lodged in his back. Eren stares up at her in surprise, and she stares back at him, moonbeam orbs filling with tears. She falls to her knees beside him and reaches out a hand.

"I…"

The words are swallowed up and lost by the broken sob that escapes her lips. Eren props himself up and reaches for her. "Mikasa. Mikasa. _Mikasa._" he speaks her name over and over again, wonder filling his tone as he pulls her to him.

"I love you I love you I love you." she says, her fist clenching his torn shirt.

He doesn't say 'You can't', he doesn't say 'I know', in fact, he doesn't say anything. Instead, he kisses her.

It's almost sorrowful, but it is what it is.

She kisses him back.

Mikasa is not of noble blood, Eren is the future king – and they are in love.

* * *

**end notes: **Okay, I realize that I left out the part where Eren is the adventurous prince - I kind of got off track and ahead of myself. Sorry about that. We got all angst-y and sad and this is a recurring theme and I'm sorry. I hope it's still okay? Thanks again for your prompt, it was a really good one. Sorry I didn't get Erwin in there. I try. But I wanted to keep it under 1,000 words. Feel free to send in another prompt any time.

**a round of applause for: **_maesde, legendaryhuntress, in the gay lane, andy-chan24, _and _Erzatscarlett _for your reviews. I really appreciate them.

**last call: **Feel free to send in prompts. Several, even. I think that'd be great. Merry Christmas!


	6. Chapter 6

**title: **Cheers to the Homeless

**summary: **Mikasa decides that home is a person, not a place.

**setting: **In canon somewhere

**pairing: **Eren x Mikasa

**notes: **How was your Christmas? Good, I hope. Review, pretty please? It'd make my day.

**disclaimer****:** I own nothing.

* * *

_._

_They were never, in fact, homeless_

_._

* * *

Mikasa Ackerman has lost two homes in only a matter of years. One, was the home of her parents. A home of broken dreams and bloody memories. A home of fairy tales without happily ever afters, and a home of long dead ghosts.

Her second home was the home of Carla and Grisha Jaeger. A home where she lived with Eren and spent some of her happiest days. A home of rubble and a basement full of secrets and hope. A home of death and leaving.

There were the training grounds, but she can never consider them as _home. _She does have good memories there. Of living friends and days spent training to become stronger, but they just don't feel like home.

Home is where they heart is, they say.

But Mikasa doesn't know where her home is, and if she can't find her home then she can't find her heart.

And that worries her more than it should.

She is not a heartless person, she has feelings and she feels for others. She _bleeds _for others.

A heart is one of the only things that separates humanity from the Titans. Not so much the heart itself, but the feelings that come along with it. Armin tells her that it's the brain that does the thinking – the _feeling _– and she does believe him, because he is _Armin. _

But Mikasa still believes that a heart feels. That a heart dictates your emotions.

After all, when a friend dies in battle, do you feel sadness and loss with your brain?

You feel it in your chest, in your _heart. _

Mikasa _needs _to find her home, so she can know where her heart lies.

But she is on the road most of her time now, and she doesn't have a certain place she always returns to. Inside the wall maybe, but Mikasa has decided that just being inside the wall isn't enough. It's not her home any longer.

Her silver stardust eyes trail over to a bright-eyed Titan shifter.

Eren has been with her since the fall of her first home. He's saved her over and over again, and it is likewise on her part. He is all she has left. Sure, some of her friends are still living and with her – Armin is still here – but it just doesn't feel the same.

Eren is different.

He is special. He is an exception.

And she knows it.

She will always put Eren first. He is her top priority.

Mikasa loves Eren, and not just like a sister.

So it is when he turns from his conversation with Levi and catches her eye and gives her a rare smile, she knows.

Home is not a place, but a person.

Her home is Eren, and her heart belongs to him and him alone.

Mikasa smiles back.

Humanity is not yet extinct, there is still hope, and Mikasa Ackerman has found her home with Eren Jaeger.

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**end notes: **I kept it under 1,000! So yeah, I'm ecstatic about that.

**three cheers for: **_maesde, in the gay lane, misstampede, _and _lengendaryhuntress _for reviewing! Of course, thanks to those of you who have added this drabble series to your favorites, and have also followed it. Can't do this without you.

**last call: **Pretty please send in your prompts, I can only come up with so many, and I'd like to keep this going for as long as possible.


	7. Chapter 7

**title: **Midnight Countdown Storm in a Bottle

**summary: **Mikasa is not fearless, but she certainly is unassuming. Eren knows better.

**setting: **In canon.

**pairing: **Eren x Mikasa

**notes: **I realize the title of this chapter makes zero sense, but I liked it. I also realized that all the previous drabbles have been in Mikasa's point of view (sort of) so I wanted to do Eren this time.

**thanks to: **legendaryhuntress for this prompt. I really did like it, so no worries. And thanks, I'm really glad you like this drabble series.

**disclaimer: **I don't own anything. Except all the episodes of The Paradise.

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There is a certain emotion that pulls and tugs at your stomach, twisting into complicated knots and turning it inside out and right-side out over and over again. It makes your mind numb and you're never sure what exactly to do. Do you run? Do you hide? It is truly mind-numbing and horrifying, a terrible thing to experience.

_Fear. _

Mikasa Ackerman is fearless and brave to her fellow members of the 104th Training Squad. Her only Achilles heel is Eren Jaeger, the reckless boy who she is in love with.

But, Eren Jeager – who, for all he is worth, does _not _know that Mikasa is in love with him – knows better.

Because they live in this walled fortress, and they _are _part of a training squad, they must deal with that. And later, even when they aren't within the walls and are instead out with Levi and his new squad, they have to deal with it.

There is only one problem.

Mikasa Ackerman, is deathly afraid of thunderstorms.

And, Eren is the only _living _person in this cruel but beautiful world who knows this simple yet strange fact.

Simple because lots of children and yes, girls are afraid of thunderstorms. Strange because Mikasa is literally a _Titan killing machine_ who appears to be afraid of nothing.

(Except losing Eren, but he doesn't know _that._)

Everything except thunderstorms.

And because he is the only one who knows this, is makes him feel smug. Especially since that horse-face _Jean _knows absolutely _nothing _about Mikasa's cleverly hidden fear.

Ha.

Eren lies on his cot and stares up at the ceiling – the room is _impeccable, _because Levi, ever the high maintenance tight-ass clean freak that he is kept on him about it – and he waits.

There is sure to be the sound of the door opening and it will be soundless until a figure reaches his bed and tugs on his sleeve.

He grins to himself as a particularly loud crack of thunder breaks across the sky. His hands are crossed behind his head and he counts.

One.

Two.

Three.

The door opens, and he barely catches it.

Four.

Five.

She has to make sure she doesn't accidentally wake the wrong person up, after all. What a disaster that would be, her waking Levi up. His grin grows wider.

Six.

Seven.

He has to admit that he's pretty impressed with her timing.

Eight.

Nine.

"Eren?" his name leaves her lips in what is just barely an audible whisper. It is like a whisper of a whisper. Quiet, so quiet, so that he is the only one who hears her.

Ten.

Mikasa tugs on his sleeve, and he moves over, allowing her room. She slides in beside him and slips under his blanket. Eren tosses his arm around her shoulders and pulls her shaking form closer to him and into his side.

He is smiling at the ceiling, because she can't see him.

If pony boy could see him _now…_

"Mikasa." he whispers, just a little louder than she had said his name. "Everything is fine. I'm right here."

She turns into his side and her fists clench his shirt tightly, her voice is a breathy whisper. "Okay."

And she is.

He knows she'll be gone before anyone else wakes. He knows that it will be like she was never there – like they were totally not freaking _cuddling _in his cot. But strangely enough, he's okay with that. And she's okay, so that is what matters most.

It's all lingering glances, constant touches, rare wistful smiles, and yeah, secretly cuddling during thunderstorms, but that's okay.

Usually he falls asleep because he waits up for her on these nights – because he is the only one she ever wants to comfort her, the only one that _can _comfort her – but not tonight. Tonight he stays awake because he knows that she is always gone when he wakes, and tonight, he just wants to cherish the feeling of holding her close to him.

He doesn't have to be a hero for all of humanity, he just wants to be her hero.

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**end notes: **So there you have it.

**tip your hat to: **_in the gay lane, legendaryhuntress, missstampede, solitarycloud, maesde, Erzatscarlett, _and _ChocoCookiesRule134_. Seriously, thank you for reviewing.

**last call: **See you next time!


	8. Chapter 8

**title: **The Spoils of Bridezilla

**summary: **Eren and Mikasa are getting married. Complete and utter chaos ensues.

**setting: **non canonverse, modern!au

**pairing: **Eren x Mikasa

**notes: **This was really fun to write, let me tell you. You know something, I just really like the song 'Hey There Delilah.'

**disclaimer: **I own nothing.

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"Um, the flowers. We need the order for the flowers." Christa practically flies about the room, flailing and speaking in a rushed, breathless tone. "The reservations, we need to get the church reserved. And the cake – Sasha is with her and they've gone to pick out the cake. Right, right. Okay. Now the flowers – what were the arrangements again?"

Ymir grabs her by the shoulders. "Christa. _Christa calm down. _It's _wedding_, not the apocalypse."

The blond stares back up at her longtime friend, mortified. "But Ymir! It's not just _any _wedding! It's _Mikasa's _wedding! The one we thought would never happen! The one that has to be absolutely perfect because it's Mikasa's special day and I _will not _stand for anything less then _perfect _so we _need _to get those flowers ordered before the deadline _please_!"

Jean and Bertholdt watch the tiny drama from the sidelines.

"Only Christa could be commanding without actually being commanding." Jean muses, patting the stack of chairs beside him.

The latter nods. "I'm going to marry her one day."

"In your dreams." Ryner comments from his position across the room.

Armin holds up a catalogue with corsages, flowers, and everything floral that you would need for a wedding. "Is this what you were looking for?"

Christa launches herself at him in a half-hug, half-tackle. "Oh _Armin_! You're a lifesaver! Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

And then she proceeds to kiss him on his cheek but _very close to the mouth. _

Ymir rolls her eyes and pulls the frantic blond off the young man while pointedly ignoring the scathing looks from across the room – where Annie is busy tying bows. "Christa, _it's just a wedding._"

Jean and Bertholdt are still solely focused on the mini-drama playing out before them.

"I smell another wedding. In all its floral, matrimony, and holy horror – I mean glory." Jean comments.

Bertholdt nods. "My wedding."

"You wish!" comes the cry from across the room, where Ryner is stuck with Annie.

Jean turns ever-so-slightly to look at the one who had spoken. He can also feel the intense and deadly gaze of a certain Annie Leonhardt, although it isn't directed at him. "Nothing like a wedding to bring out the monstrosity of love and the want of relationships inside everyone." he muses to himself.

Petra smiles at him as she passes by, carrying loads and loads of fabric – better known as the bridesmaids' dresses. "But weddings are wonderful, Jean. You'll see that yourself, one day."

He grunts after she's passed, and turns back to his stack of chairs. "Yeah right."

"So Jaeger," Levi drawls as they walk through the reception hall where all their friends are busy setting up for the wedding, "what do you think of this madhouse?"

Eren, however, has apparently gone into denial. "Am I really getting married?"

Levi raises a brow. "What does it look like, moron?"

"I'm really getting married to Mikasa?" the bright-eyed young man reiterates, not having heard his friend.

Levi frowns and picks up a stray ribbon. "You proposed – which was a miracle in itself, your fiancée said yes, Arlet over there is your best man, Petra dragged me here to help with this thing, and this is your wedding everyone is working so hard to make perfect, so…what do you think, Jaeger?"

"I'm really getting married? To Mikasa?" Eren repeats, staring off into space, his gaze directed over to Connie and Marco, who are setting up the tables.

The stout man stares at his friend, unimpressed, before moving on to help Petra with her burden of colored fabric. "Fine. Just make sure this place is spotless. I don't want to find a spec of dirt or dust on anything."

"The place cards!" Christa shrieks suddenly, dropping the pile of neatly tied ribbons in her arms.

Her loud exclamation startles Ryner, who is tying ribbons onto chairs and sashes. He lets out a howl as he goes down, taking the ribbon – and chair – with him. This causes a chain reaction, and like the domino effect, one by one, a whole row of chairs collapse.

One knocks into Connie, who stumbles and falls, unable to keep his balance while carrying a table. Marco follows soon after, and they crash into Jean and Bertholdt, causing both them and their stacks of chairs to tumble to the floor, almost knocking Levi and Petra off their feet.

_Almost. _

Levi stares down at the two men writhing beneath both him, and the collapsed chairs, and gives them the finger. Petra is horrified.

Someone's phone beeps.

Ymir glances down at the screen. "Oh hey. They found the cake and they're on their way here. Also, Sasha finished off about two thousand, five hundred dollars' worth of cake samples."

"_What_?!"

Eren suddenly snaps out of his state of denial. "I'm getting married – to Mikasa!" he beams, and turns to his friends, only to see –

A stage four disaster zone.

Chairs are toppled, ribbons are everyone, tables are collapsed, his friends are strewn about the room – most having been knocked off their feet, Ymir is laughing loudly, Christa is rapidly dialing a number into her cellphone, Petra is horrified, and Levi is _pissed. _

Annie looks up at him from her place on the floor, where she is still tying ribbons – her unknown talent - completely unperturbed. "Yes, you are."

Eren is completely speechless.

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(And, after several hours of intense labor and cleaning sessions supervised by Levi, Mikasa Ackerman does get her perfect wedding, where she is married to Eren Jaeger. And they live happily ever after. Supposedly.)

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**end notes: **I love weddings. They're just lovely. Just FYI - Mikasa is _not _Bridezilla, but I liked the title so it is what it is.

**a cookie for: **_maesde, legendaryhuntress, Erzatscarlett, carolinejay Anon (guest), _and _Karly666-chan (guest). _You who review really make my day, honestly. Thank you to those who have added this story to their favorites, and have followed it. I can't do it without all of you!

**last call: **I kept the drabble under 1,000 words. Woot woot.


	9. Chapter 9

**title: **Not For the Faint of Heart

**summary: **Levi, Eren, a quiet afternoon, and relationship advice. (Sort of.)

**pairing: **Eren x Mikasa, slight Levi x Petra

**setting: **In canon, post chapter 50

**notes: **So I just finally caught up today, and after I finished chapter fifty, I was an emotional wreck. Anyone else have that problem? And now that I'm caught up, I have to wait for the next release. Grr.

**disclaimer: **I own nothing.

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"I never told her, you know."

Eren looks over at Levi. "What?"

The afternoon is quiet, which is something that doesn't happen often, and Levi's new squad has been issued a day off. Because, even a soldier fighting for the sake of humanity needs a break every now and then. And, you know, they're hiding from whoever is trying to get to Eren and Christa. There's that as well.

Levi and Eren are stretched out under a tree and staring up at the sky. Well, the former is, while Eren stares at him in confusion.

"What are you talking about, Levi-heichou?"

But the shorter man is lost in his thoughts, and Eren remains unheard.

"This world that we live in, isn't it shit? Our comrades are dying, everyone has a secret and half the time it's that they're Titans." he laughs humorlessly. "And after all this time, after it all, I never told her."

Eren doesn't have a response, and he senses that Levi's not yet finished.

"Her father came to me, after everything that happened. Who would have known?" he muses. "And you know, I just never told her. So is the world really shit, or am I?"

Eren Jaeger, for all his vocabulary, can't think of a single thing to say. Armin and Christa – no, Historia – are better at things like this. So he just sits, and he continues to listen.

Levi turns his head toward him. "I don't know what the hell she sees in you, Jaeger, but you'd better not let her go."

Eren raises a brow, and turns at the sound of voices. A few hundred feet away, Mikasa and Jean are scolding Sasha for sneaking food,_ again_. Armin sighs and shakes his head as he waves a potato – _go figure _– around in the air. Mikasa sighs and Eren sees something he hasn't seen since he was kidnapped by Reiner and Bertholdt.

She smiles.

It is the mother of all ghost smiles, but it is there.

Mikasa turns her head just a bit and catches his eye. Her smile widens just a bit.

"What does she see in you?" Levi asks the sky with a deep sigh.

It suddenly dawns on him, what Levi was talking about.

"Petra?" Eren says suddenly, sitting up and looking down at the shorter man still lying beside him.

Levi sighs and closes his eyes. "What does she see in you?"

Eren blinks. "Who are you talking about now?"

Levi rolls over onto his side and ignores him.

_Mikasa, you shithead. _

Is he actually going to have to spell it out for him one day?

"Eren!" Connie calls to the bright-eyed Titan-shifter. "Come over here for a minute!"

Said teen does as he's bid, and Levi shifts so he can see what exactly is going on. He can't hear what they're talking about, but he sees that Mikasa and Jean are still scolding an unperturbed Sasha. He rolls his eyes and is about to turn back, when he sees Eren slip his hand into Mikasa's.

A smirk settles on his face, and he crosses his arms behind his head and stares up at the sky.

And he swears, he can hear her voice in the wind.

"_Maybe not." _

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**end notes: **I totally ship Levi and Petra, and I was really sad to see her die. *Spoilers*. Irvin is hiding something and damn straight Levi is right. The guy is creepy. Have to admit, I'm not completely satisfied with this chapter. It just feels unfinished. Oh well, I'll just have to make the next one better.

**other: **Hey, I've been meaning to ask, since my profile pic is Natsu and Lucy from Fairy Tail, and I didn't want that to be the cover for this story, I chose a picture of Mikasa and Eren instead. It doesn't register when I look over my stories, so I was just wondering if you can see it?

**raise your glass to:** _solitarycloud, in the gay lane, maesde,_ and_ legendaryhuntress_.You know, because they reviewed.


	10. Chapter 10

**title: **Bulletproof Weeks

**summary: **Mikasa will always love Eren - even when he pushes her away.

**pairing: **eren & mikasa

**setting: **in canonverse

**notes: **if you like the pairing of armin and annie, i have a one-shot called 'porcelain doll' you could check out. it's my first, so i'd be thankful if you did. here's to ten chapters of 'Wrapped in Red!'

**disclaimer: **own nothing

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_grenadine sunshine, can you fade inside of mine_

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"Stop treating me like such a fucking child, Mikasa! I can take care of myself!"

Eren pulls away from her gentle touch, and the girl with the stardust-colored eyes can feel her heart break a little. She only want to help, only wants to make sure that he really is okay just like he says he is. Eren's lies aren't all that, and even though he's getting better at the game, she can still tell.

She's always been able to tell.

"Eren, I –," she starts to protest, to tell him she just wants to _make sure, _but he interrupts her.

His beautiful forest green eyes are alive and livid, and she already knows where this is going before it starts. It's always like this, it always ends the same way, and she doesn't know how to change that. She knows she has to soon, or else her heart isn't going to be able to take much more.

Eren shoves her roughly. "I don't _need _you. I can _take care of myself. _I don't need you to baby me, or protect me, or fight my battles." he seethes, placing a hand on her shoulder.

It is not a loving touch. It is not one of endearment or 'it's okay, Mikasa.'

It's hard and cold and almost to the point where his nails are digging into her shoulder.

She clamps her teeth shut and doesn't say a word, because, _what can she say? _The way he's looking at her right now, the manner in which he's speaking – it's almost hateful and she fears that if she did open her mouth, she'd start to cry.

And what about her façade then?

He's pushing her away, she can feel it. She's always been able to feel it.

She doesn't know _why _he does it, but she wants to. Then maybe she can fix whatever it is.

_Is it something that I've done? I just want to make sure you're alright. I don't have anyone else. You're the only thing I have left. You're all I have left. I love you. Can't you see it? How can you not see it? _

She screams in her head a thousand times over because, _all he ever seems to do is push her away. _

She just wants to know why.

"I never _asked you _to join the Survey Corps." Eren growls, and she wants to lower her head but she doesn't. "For all I care you can go _back._"

_To where? _Mikasa wants to ask. _Where am I supposed to go if I'm not with you? Where exactly is 'back'? _

He's all she has left. He is her 'back.' He's her past, her present, her fast-forward. If she's not with him, then _what _is she supposed to do? _Where_ is she supposed to _go_?

When she looks into his eyes she can see it all. His emotions are raw and just _right there. _She can see reflections of a younger, more fragile version of herself – bound with her fate sealed. She can see a dying Carla Jaeger, the Titans destroying their home. She can see a dead girl with honey-colored eyes and late-afternoon sunshine hair. She can see the scar on her cheek that she always tries to hide.

It's all in his eyes, like a mosaic of painful memories. They're all colored vermilion, and she wonders if she has the same – or a slightly different – mural in her eyes.

She looks, and she sees.

Eren releases his painful grasp on her shoulder and roughly shoves her away with such force that she stumbles. He turns his back to her, and his voice has lost most of its venom when he finally finishes his broken-record spiel. "So just _fuck off _Mikasa."

And then he walks away.

Mikasa stands and she stares after his retreating form. Some of her unshed tears spill over onto her pale cheeks and she quickly rubs them away with the back of her hand before anyone can notice.

"It's okay, Eren." she whispers to herself and to his back.

She's not going anywhere.

He doesn't hear.

She'll always love him – even when he tries his best to push her away.

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**end notes: **a big thank you to those who have reviewed, and added this story to your favorites and follows!


	11. Chapter 11

**title: **some girls are

**summary: **She is, in a word, ethereal. But there are so many words to describe her, Eren just can't settle with one.

**pairing: **eren & mikasa

**setting: **in canonverse

**notes: **Because, wouldn't you like some eremika for your day?

**disclaimer: **own nothing

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Some days, Eren thinks of Mikasa and how to describe her. The funny thing is, he often finds that he can't. They're not actually brother and sister, but they border something _else. _They are not technically related, they are just _Eren _and _Mikasa. _

They are two shining stars in the dark, twisted, and beautiful world that they live in.

He wonders sometimes, how to correctly describe her in one word. Ethereal is a very accurate one – because Mikasa is so different from everyone around him. She is beautiful, so much so that it doesn't seem that she is of this earth. It's an unworldly type of beauty, not just on the outside, but deep within her soul. Her eyes reflect the stars, and she carries an unearthly and celestial air about her. For a soldier, she has an unusual sense delicacy or refinement, even when she is out slaying Titans. She makes it look more like a careful dance, rather than a bloodbath.

But he is not just satisfied with _one _word, because she is so much _more. _

Mikasa is irreplaceable. She is something that, once taken away, cannot be replicated.

She is a façade, and only those who know her well enough – from _before _the Titans – can read her clearly.

She is also a bit debonair, because she is always gentle and courteous to him.

She is a nuance in their cruel world. Something nice and delicate, and she will always mean something to him.

Mikasa is, in Eren's eyes, nonpareil. She has no equal, in both his heart and their training squad.

She is _not_ a happenstance in his life – she was always meant to be there, whether he knew it all along or not. He doesn't know if he believes in fate, but he believes in _something. _Something that brought the two of them together years ago.

Sometimes, Eren thinks that he needs to stop going through Armin's dictionary, because he can never stop with just _one _word to describe Mikasa.

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**end notes: **Shortest drabble yet.


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